Essence
by ASIG
Summary: Roxton & Marguerite are married, Summerlee's alive... What is going on??? Please R


AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've had this story around as a "work in progress" for nearly five months now. That is because I think the premise for it is good, and I wanted to do the story right. I hope my hard work shows. Thanks Julia for all your help. Enjoy.

"Ms. Roxton," Assai yelled, but clearly she could not be heard.

She ran a few steps forward, "Ms. Roxton," again no answer.

She ran all the way up to her and said, "Ms. Roxton…"

Marguerite turned to Assai, her face looking peaceful and contented, "Yes. I'm sorry dear; I must have gotten sidetracked admiring all these beautiful flowers I've picked today. Don't you love all the pretty colors?"

"Yes," Assai said quickly, annoyed with Marguerite and her flowers, "Did you get the gems?"

"From the cave we found yesterday?" Marguerite asked.

"Yes, of course from the cave we found yesterday!" Assai didn't sound pleased.

"Well," Marguerite began, "it was pretty rough terrain, not too safe, they were tough to get to…"

"Did you get them?" Assai interrupted with a threatening tone as she was loosing her patience with Marguerite.

"Here they are," Marguerite said, tossing Assai a small pouch.

Assai opened the bag slightly, and peeked inside. Sure enough there were tons of large and very valuable gems. Most of them were emeralds, but she also saw a couple of small rubies and a very large diamond. This would please her lover; diamonds are the most valuable. Except for something called gold, but this is a substance Assai had never encountered in her life. 

"Satisfied?" Marguerite asked, obviously she had hard feelings about having to fetch them for the lazy and greedy Assai.

"They're perfect!" Assai said, very pleased with what she had, "Why do you always waste your days away collecting flowers? They have no value."

"Their beauty is value to me," said Marguerite, "Besides, my husband always feels more comfortable when there are fresh flowers in our bedroom."

Assai looked at Marguerite for a moment, and laughed at her. "Go ahead and pick your worthless flowers!" After saying this, she walked off.

Marguerite's mood improved greatly as Assai left. She happily and joyfully picked all the pretty flowers she could find, and placed them in her basket. She smiled and hummed the tunes that she could remember from her London life. This plateau was wonderful for her. She met the man she loved, and finally found peace. Yes, there were the dinosaurs, and the Lizards, but the Lizards were friendly with them, and the Lizards were very effective in hunting the dinosaurs. _Let the reptiles play with the other reptiles, Marguerite often thought. Friendly with the Lizards… she still tried to figure out why. A war with this plateau's Lizard race would undoubtedly get them all killed, so friendship with them was in the best interests of their survival. Everything has a price though, and the price the explorer's paid for the Lizard's friendship was one that effected Marguerite every day. Her eyes began to tear thinking of the Lizards. She picked up one of the flowers she had picked and sniffed it. Her tears dried up as a smile formed on her face. __Time to get back to the treehouse, she thought, __I'll need to make dinner soon. _

At the treehouse, Assai wasted little time in going to see Malone. As she walked through the house, she could hear a discussion between Summerlee and Challenger.

"It's incredible!" Challenger was saying, "it's been thought that all five of these plants have been extinct for millions of years!"

"Yes George," Summerlee said, "this plateau is full of surprises. Now, I must get down to my lab, or I'll ruin an experiment."

"That's fine," Challenger said, "I'd like to study these plants a little bit more. How exciting this is!"

Assai approached Malone's room. Was Malone in? 

"Neddy?" she called.

"No interruptions, isn't that what I…" Malone paused, "Assai, is that you?" he said, his tone lighter.

"Yes dear," Assai said.

"Well, get in here!" Malone exclaimed, anticipating her return with his gems.

Assai walked into Malone's bedroom, a place she spent many of her nights. Malone was sitting at a desk with tons of different gems on it, more cataloging no doubt. Between keeping records in his journals and cataloging all his gems, Malone had very little time for anything else. 

"Come here," he told Assai, "Is that what I think it is?" Malone said greedily.

Assai was always happy to see Malone. She felt like she was a bad person, always after all these gems, gems that were merely shiny rocks to her in another life. She did things like blackmail and torture to get them, and she often wondered if it was worth it. But Malone cared for her, when there was nobody else left to do so. He was a man with great vision of the future, and he was willing to share that future with her. He would take her in as his beautiful bride and take care of her forever. For that, she offered him the ultimate show of gratitude. She never thought about the decision enough to regret it, but since Malone took it upon himself to be there for her, she had learned many things. And deep down inside, Assai knew that if she had waited to decide to let herself be taken in by Malone, she might have been against that decision. Things might have been much different. But Malone and her had formed their bond and she could not break away from him, no matter what.

"Better than we expected," Assai said, handing over the pouch to Malone.

"Good," Malone smiled, and tossed the pouch onto the table. He gave Assai a kiss before turning his attention to his latest treasure.

"Neddy?" Assai asked.

"Yes," said Malone, delaying his timetable for his lovely mistress. Marguerite had since arrived at the treehouse, and she could be heard clattering around in the kitchen as an intimate conversation ensued between Malone and Assai.

"Tell me again, what will happen when we reach London?" Assai always liked to hear this story.

"We will use these gems of ours to collect a fortune," Malone told her, "Then, we will buy out all the English newspapers, and run several years worth of special editions featuring my journals. People will love to read about brave heroes battling dinosaurs, fighting to stay alive. Even if half of what I write is exaggerated and even if I do leave some things out. And with the monopoly of the entire newspaper industry, we can jack up the prices as high as we want, and what can the people do about it? They need their news. Then, using the rest of the money from our gems, and the money from the newspaper profits, we'll sell the papers to whoever wants them. This is when we'll make our wedding plans official. I'll throw you the biggest wedding London's ever seen! Then, we'll retire to some beautiful tropical island, where we'll have a huge mansion all to ourselves, with dozens of servants waiting for and obeying our every command!"

"That sounds so wonderful," Assai said, she rested her head on Malone's shoulder and began thinking about what it would be like when they got to the point Malone was seeking. It sounded so nice and happy; the dream of any woman to be fulfilled.

Malone of course, had no intention of keeping Assai at his side. He would quickly get rid of the dazed and confused, primitive jungle girl. He needed her now though, for several reasons. She was the only one of the group of explorers that he could manipulate, and he needed someone to use. Someone to help him collect his fortune; plus, any man would need the company of a female after a period of time, and Malone had no idea how long they would be trapped on this infernal plateau.

"Dinnertime!" Marguerite yelled.

Assai, Malone, the Roxtons, Challenger, and Summerlee all gathered at the dinner table to enjoy one of Marguerite's tasty meals. 

Veronica kept a brisk pace as she walked through the jungle. She had just woken up at daybreak and was eager to get back to the treehouse. In time for breakfast she had hoped. It would be a pleasant surprise for the others to see her today, she was back a day early from the Zanga village. She was to stay there with Assai and Jarl for five days, but Jarl had fallen ill, and Assai needed to take care of him, so Veronica had decided to leave early.

Suddenly, the sky got darker, as if a giant shadow loomed over her. Veronica looked up, and saw that something was there, hovering over her. It was very large, but before she could get a good look at it, something strange happened. She found herself caught in something, though she could not be sure what it was. She felt like she was being sucked right off the face of the Earth. It was as if a giant vacuum had somehow gotten a hold of her. She was thinking, _Where did this come from? How did this happen? Veronica felt like she was literally being pulled off the ground. At first she knew this could not be true because she could still feel her feet firmly planted. Then she began to feel light-headed. Everything around her was spinning. She didn't know if this was a cause of whatever force she was caught in, or if it was simply her equilibrium that was taking her mind for a wild ride._

The shadow that loomed over the area disappeared and nothing was left in the spot where it once lay. No Veronica, no trees, no plants, only dirt. 

Veronica blinked quickly, as she found herself standing in the jungle alone. She had the strange feeling something had just happened to her, but that soon passed and everything seemed normal once more. She shook off any other bizarre feelings and continued heading for the treehouse, still hoping to make breakfast.

Veronica stepped into the elevator, and went up to her home. She stepped out to find Roxton sitting down, and Challenger back in the kitchen preparing something. Veronica was rather surprised to find Challenger up bright and early and anywhere else but his lab. 

"Roxton, Challenger," Veronica said, as she put away her canteen and set down her knives, "What's for breakfast this morning?"

Challenger turned around and gasped, as Lord John Roxton reached for a rifle that was not too far from his chair. He picked it up and took aim at Veronica.

"Who are you?" Lord John demanded.

Veronica looked confused and then she began to smile, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Challenger stepped forward and said softly, "How did you know our names?"

Veronica couldn't believe this. They both sounded very serious. Then, an unexpected turn of events played out. Roxton began to tremble.

"Oh no!" Challenger exclaimed. "Marguerite!" he shouted, "Come quick, it's John!"

Marguerite came running out of her room, looking as if she had just woken up. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed. "What happened here?"

"We have ourselves a visitor," Challenger stated, "but don't you worry about that, just get him out of here and calm him down."

Marguerite guided the shaking Roxton out of the room, as he had immense difficulty walking, even with Marguerite there for support.

"What's, what's wrong with him?" Veronica asked.

"Shell shock," Challenger said, he smiled warmly, "sit down my dear. Let's have a little talk."

Veronica reluctantly agreed to sit with Challenger, who wasn't quite acting like himself either.

Before Veronica and Challenger could talk more, Assai came out. 

"What is all this commotion? Whatever it is, it was enough to wake me up!" Assai said. Veronica could tell that Assai was not happy, but this was not the first thing on her mind.

"Assai," said Veronica, very puzzled, "what are you doing here?"

"I live here," Assai responded, "Challenger, are you handing out my name and description to strangers?"

"Veronica and I just met," Challenger told her, "and we never even mentioned you."

Assai got that disturbing look on her face that was being passed around the treehouse this morning, "So, then how did you…"

"Why do you live here and not with the Zanga?" Veronica asked her.

Assai looked down. She was clearly saddened by something, but Veronica had no idea what.

"Assai is the only living person that ever had associations with the Zanga. This actually goes back to Roxton," Challenger started saying. "You see, when we first arrived on this plateau, one of the first tribes we met were a group of wandering nomads, the Zanga."

"No village?" Veronica inquired.

"Village?" Assai said, not with her.

"Who can establish a village with the Lizard men around," Challenger said.

"Lizard men?" Veronica said. _Oh, she thought, __this should be good._

"Yes," Challenger confirmed, "that's what we learned from the Zanga. There is a large civilization of evolved Lizards on this plateau, and they dominate nearly all the land. Shortly after we met the Zanga, the Lizards attacked their small encampment. We fought side by side with the Zanga, but the Lizards had us outnumbered. In that battle, Roxton was seriously injured, and that's how he got the shell shock effect. It's really amazing that he recovered as well as he did from his physical injuries, but he's still left with the haunting memories."

"What exactly did happen to him?" Veronica asked.

"Well," Assai said, taking a deep breath, "he was left with seven spears stuck in him, and he must have been trampled over by a dozen of the Lizard's horses."

Veronica nodded. "Assai here," Challenger continued, "was the only one of the Zanga to survive the battle. We took her with us. We were able to find this abandoned treehouse, and live here. I guess we've always assumed that those who built this place were caught and killed by the Lizards. We're also fortunate that Mr. Malone is as good of a negotiator as he is. He was able to convince the Lizards to let us stay at this treehouse, and leave us alone as we explored the plateau, looking for a way back to London."

"Now you know all about us," Assai said, "but we still don't know anything about you."

Nobody was attentive enough to hear footsteps coming from Summerlee's laboratory.

"My name is Veronica, and you're probably not going to believe what I have to tell you. My parents are the ones who built this treehouse, I suppose in a sense it's mine. I've been living here alone, for years."

"Then where did you go for all this time we've been here?" Assai asked curiously.

"That's just it," Veronica explained, "I haven't gone anywhere. I've been living here, all this time. About two years ago, this same group of explorers, you're group, came from London to prove the existence of this plateau. I've been helping you try to find a way off, but it's tough."

"Amazing," Summerlee said, "it sounds to me like you're describing parallel universes. It makes perfect sense. Dozens, hundreds, perhaps even thousands or millions of universes all with the same people, but each time we make a decision, someone else like us, in a parallel universe, makes the opposite decision."

"Summerlee!" Veronica exclaimed, "You're, you're alive!"

"There, that's a difference in your reality. And I'm willing to bet there are many other things that seem strange to you here compared to where you've been," Summerlee ranted.

"Yes," Veronica smiled, "there are. It's so strange. I know all of you, you all look the same, yet on the inside you're all very different from the people I know. Where I come from, the Lizards exist, and I've encountered them, but they don't rule the whole plateau. The plateau has a lot of villages where many different tribes stay, and send out hunters – the Zanga being one of them. I know you Assai and we're friends. The Challenger expedition is much…"

"The _Challenger expedition!" Challenger exclaimed, laughing a little. "Well, there's something that's not quite right, this is the __Summerlee expedition."_

"Yes," Summerlee went on, "Challenger here didn't even have enough of an open mind to see that this place existed! Why, the only reason he came with me on my expedition was to prove that I was wrong in my theories about this Lost World being here."

_Sounds familiar, Veronica thought._

"I've come to respect your theories," Challenger said, "this man," he told Veronica, "is a genius!"

"That's funny," Veronica shared, "you two our totally opposite from where I come from. It's like you're the same people, but have switched bodies."

"How odd," said Summerlee.

Marguerite came walking back out. "Well," she informed them, "he's going to be okay. He needs time to shake off the incident though."

"That's understandable," Summerlee said.

"So," Marguerite asked distastefully, "who do I have here to thank for my husband's pain?"

Veronica stepped in, "My name is Veronica. I'm really very sorry about Roxton, something strange is going on here."

"Yes," Summerlee agreed, "Miss Veronica is not to blame."

"Miss Veronica…" Veronica said thoughtfully, "The Summerlee I knew called me that when we first met too."

"Really?" Challenger said.

"Remarkable," Summerlee commented, "it sounds like we all have certain characteristics that are so dominant in us, that they remain constant in any universe!"

"Um, look Professor," Veronica said, "I'm not going to say that I don't have confidence in your… Parallel universes did you call them?

"Yes," said Summerlee.

"Well, I don't understand that theory," Veronica explained, "and I don't know what's happened to me here. Or maybe something's happened to all of you. I just can't say. All I want to know is where am I, and how do I go back to where I came from?"

"Good questions, indeed," Challenger said, "and we will have to try and find answers for you."

Malone entered the room now, and looked very tired, but very clean cut as well. He stopped, yawned, looked at everybody in the room, and then spotted Veronica.

Malone smiled, "Nobody told me we were having a guest."

"You think we knew!" Marguerite exclaimed.

"I sort of… dropped in out of the blue," Veronica said.

Malone walked up to her, "Well, hello, my name's…"

"Malone," Veronica cut him off, "Ned Malone. And I'm Veronica."

"Veronica," Malone said, a little bewildered, "and you know me! How? How could a woman I've never met before know me? Or have we met somewhere before?"

Summerlee filled Malone in on the details surrounding Veronica's arrival. Malone seemed very interested in her, and he wanted to know more about her.

Assai just simply looked on. She was somewhat disturbed by Malone's fascination in this new guest. Assai thought Malone would be thinking more sharply than the others would; more like her. She knew what Veronica said, but she had to keep open the possibility, that Veronica wasn't from some other reality. It seemed very possible to Assai that Veronica could've been on this plateau, entrenched in this plane of existence all along. It wouldn't have been hard for her to follow them around as they walked through the jungle. To find a perch and spy on them in the treehouse, finding out about whom these people were – enough to make up her story. She could have also been sneaking into the treehouse for who knows how long; familiarizing herself with the layout. Finding those pictures of those parents and their daughter, jumping in as the long lost daughter. Assai did have to admit that going through that, the same but everything different routine did make her story more believable. Assai was still not so quick to give in and trust the visitor.

And what may have bothered Assai even more about Veronica wasn't so much Malone's infatuation with her, but it appeared that Veronica felt very comfortable around Malone. It was as if she liked him more than the others for whatever reason. 

Later on that day, Marguerite decided that John should be removed from all unfamiliarity while recovering from his lapse of shell shock. She wanted to take him on a flower gathering expedition that she had embarked on many times. It involved walking a trail that the Lizards let them on without any trouble. A concerned Summerlee suggested that someone should accompany them, and Assai was volunteered. Malone was the first to jump aboard and encourage Assai to go along.

Naturally, Assai did not like this. She felt as if Malone was pushing her away, making sure that she was away from the treehouse for a few days. Assai didn't like leaving Veronica there without someone whom would properly supervise her. By the way she was hitting it off with Malone, Assai knew that she was definitely threatened by Veronica. The one thing she was still trying to decide was if Veronica threatened all of them.

"Fine," Assai said, "I will go with the Roxtons for a few days."

"That's great," said Malone, "I'll help you prepare your things before you leave."

The two of them walked into Assai's bedroom, and Malone started immediately getting out canteens, knives, and everything else she would need.

"Ned," Assai told him, "I don't like this."

"Don't like what?" Malone asked.

"This whole Veronica thing," replied Assai, "I mean, I don't trust her, and I don't think you should either."

"There hasn't been anything she's said or done to justify your accusations," Malone defended.

"I'm not accusing her of anything," Assai said, "but I _am saying that we should be more careful in accepting strangers."_

Malone smiled, "I'm sure everything will be fine. Now, is there anything else you need?"

"You seem to be getting close to Veronica," Assai began, "I suppose you have a better judgment of how honest she is than I do – all that time with her and everything."

Malone set down her things, and walked over to her. "You're jealous," he accused.

"I'm worried, and not just for you, for everyone," Assai said, as she blushed a little.

"No," Malone grinned with a sort of sick fascination, "you're jealous."

He attempted to comfort her. "You have nothing to worry about, I'm just… curious about Veronica. I'd like to know more about her and where she comes from, what I'm like there – that sort of thing."

"Since when have you been the curious type?" Assai demanded.

"Oh," Malone toyed, "since I became a writer. Look, I don't know what you're worried about, I love you, and nothing is going to change that." 

Malone looked down at the shorter Assai and kissed her on the forehead, to reassure her that his words were truthful.

Assai knew that Malone was _that good at hiding his feelings, that he may not have been honest at all. She walked away from him saying, "Thank you for gathering my things." She then scooped up everything, and left the room. She made sure she didn't confront Malone again until she was gone. _

That night, Malone stayed up late writing in his journals. He kept an eye on the guest room at all times. After Summerlee finally gave up his lab work and went off to sleep, Malone put down his pen and headed straight for Veronica.

"Hello," he told Veronica, "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"No," said Veronica softly, "this has always been my favorite spot to look out at. I don't know why really."

"I guess it's a good spot," Malone said. Veronica stroked her hand across the railing. "Why are you doing that?" asked Malone.

Veronica looked down, "Oh," she explained, "that's funny. In the treehouse where I'm from, there's a hand print indention here."

"A hand print, in the wood, how did it get there?" Malone asked, sounding so curious in the matter.

Veronica told this Malone the story of the Cobalts, and how the Uranium atom almost allowed them to come up to the Earth's surface and take over the planet, killing most of the humans. Malone seemed very interested, but as Veronica wrapped up her story, Malone turned his attention back to his priority, and that was Veronica herself.

After a pause in speech for a moment, Malone said to her, "You look so… sad."

"It's been difficult. I feel like everybody's accusing me. It's very uncomfortable. To come home to your friends and find out they don't even know you, and that they have doubts that you may be lying. I realize it's hard for all of you too, but that doesn't mean I'm doing okay. Everyone's so different, except… Well, except you Malone. You're exactly the same. I'm pretty close to my Malone."

"Really?" Malone said.

Veronica nodded to confirm, "I feel comfortable around you here because you remind me of him so much."

"Aren't I you're Malone?" he asked her, "He and I are living in different circumstances, but if circumstances played out the same, would we not be the same?"

"I guess you're right," Veronica admitted, "but all the others are so much different…"

"Well," Malone said, "I'm no Summerlee, and I can't explain that, all I know is who I am. Listen, you still look pretty sad, is there anything I can do to make you feel better."

"I don't think so," Veronica said.

Malone opened his arms offering Veronica a comforting hug, which she took him up on. Veronica took a deep breath and relaxed in Malone's arms. She tried to let go of all the events of that day. She pretended that this was the Malone she knew so well, and he made it very easy for her too. The familiar surroundings of the treehouse, the Malone that _acted the same… There, that night, Veronica was able to forget that she wasn't anywhere but where she belonged. She shoved everything she knew of her bizarre appearance here to the back of her mind, and enjoyed Malone's company in her – in their – home. She began to wish that she had spent more time like this with the Malone from her reality._

"Come," Malone said to her, as he started to guide her away. Veronica felt a chill at that moment. She got the strange feeling that Malone was doing a wonderful job at manipulating her.

_But no, Veronica told herself, __Malone could never do that to me._

Why she didn't listen to that voice in the back of her head reminding her that this wasn't her Malone is something she couldn't say for certain. Maybe it was because she wanted this to be her Malone. And maybe it was because he made it so easy for her, or perhaps a little bit of both.

Malone led Veronica straight to his bedroom. Inside, there was no sign of Malone's gems anywhere. It looked like the simple room of a writer, who cared for nothing else but to grasp his experiences in writing. 

Assai, Marguerite, and John were in Barnel, the closest Lizard city that they always went to in order to receive permission to be in Lizard territory. Without this arranged clearance, they risked getting shot by one of the Lizard horsemen. Nobody, not even Summerlee had figured out how the Lizard's got word that humans had clearance to their patrols, but they had some form of communication that got the job done.

"Your names?" asked the Lizard guard. He spoke simple words, and in such a way that he seemed like he was retarded. He wasn't. He was fully aware of what his situation was, and his mind was deceivingly developed. Many of the Lizards talked this way, as if they were begging for a fight. The problem was, humans vs. lizards created a situation where the Lizards held the advantage.

"We've already told you five times!" Marguerite exclaimed.

"Then, you will tell me again!" shouted the Lizard.

"I'm Mrs. Roxton, this is my husband, and this is our friend, Assai," explained Marguerite.

"I see," replied the guard, "and what reason do you have for being out?"

"We're out here all the time," Assai told him, "we're always interested in searching for a way off this plateau."

"A way off," laughed the Lizard, "and is that what you will be doing these next few days, looking for a way off? You're wasting your time, no such place exists."

"Well," said John, "we have to have hope that there is."

"Hope," the Lizard laughed again, "hope is a wasteful quality, found in abundance in primitive humans!"

Roxton looked down, taking the insult as if it were something he believed.

"Why you…" Assai lunged forward attempting to attack the Lizard.

"Hold on there," said Marguerite restraining her. Then she whispered in Assai's ear, "Do you really want to start something here?"

Assai let up, and Marguerite released her. They were not looking for a confrontation, but this Lizard was more stubborn than most in granting them the access that both sides had agreed that the human group was entitled to.

"See," taunted the Lizard, "stupid, primitive humans! You can't even control your own kind." He walked up to Assai and said to her face, "Feisty little thing. Typical of a wild animal!"

Assai said nothing, and made no movements. She simply glared at him with the fury in her eyes to kill this Lizard beast. She restrained herself because she knew that would be a mistake, especially for John, who certainly didn't need another battle with the Lizards, especially not now.

"Awe," the Lizard continued to taunt, "what's the matter, coward? Do you not like what I'm saying to you?"

"All right," Roxton stepped in before Assai attacked this Lizard with all her might, "that's enough. Are we granted safe passage or not?"

The Lizard looked at him for a long moment. Roxton breathed heavy, he had a certain anxiety present all the time when he dealt with the Lizards.

"Very well," the Lizard said, "safe passage for the cowards. Watch out for the dinosaurs because our soldiers won't protect you from them, and they aren't as reasonable as we are." Again the Lizard moved to Assai "Maybe this feisty little beast will buy you escape time," he said. "No," the Lizard decided, continuing to bully the Lost World native with his words, "too scrawny. A T-Rex would only have a mouthful of bones to spit out."

The Lizard hissed at Assai causing her to flinch. Still, the fury in Assai's eyes never faded, and she lunged to attack the lizard. Fortunately for her, the Roxtons were there to restrain her. The lizard's eyes widened, seeing this as a direct threat. John, shamefully turned his head the other way, as he could not bare this look of a savage desire to kill on a Lizard's face, he felt like a coward.

Marguerite grabbed Assai and guided her in the direction of the city walls, and thus the exit. 

Roxton turned toward the guard. "We don't want any trouble, we'll just be leaving now."

So, the three, despite Assai's lingering distaste, left the city, and headed out into the jungle.

"It's already dark," Assai said, "we should set up camp now."

"Here," Marguerite said with a nervousness about her, "this close to a Lizard city?"

"It's either that or we take our chances with the jungle predators we can't see," said Roxton.

"I don't…" Marguerite was about to further elaborate on her uneasy feelings, but she was cut off by Assai.

"Listen," she said.

"I don't hear anything…" Roxton started to say loudly.

Marguerite shushed him.

"I can no longer tolerate this government that controls us! No value to any life except that of a Lizard's!" they heard a female voice say passionately.

"Centuria," another female's voice was saying, "you must control yourself. We cannot be so bold."

"Can't we?" she asked, "This is no time for hiding ideas and feelings, this is a time for action! This is war! Now, send them."

"Send who?" Marguerite wondered aloud.

The sound of a gate being opened could be heard and men, human men, could be seen and heard charging from their cage. Probably slaves, but the trio of explorers still had no idea what was happening.

"Fitting," the one called Centuria said, "that the humans whose spirits our broke, are the ones to do this now."

"Does that not make us cowards?" Centuria's friend asked her.

"It makes us smart," Centuria told her, "to avoid capture at all costs. Besides, the Lizard supporters we have our not in that great of numbers…"

Under Assai's silent directions, the civilized humans backed off, and found a place to sleep. And they did have a short, but restful sleep. 

Malone tried to kiss Veronica, but she pushed him away.

"Wait," she said, feeling uneasy, "what's going on here? From your perspective, we just met."

"That's true," said Malone, his face electrified with a smile, "but there's just this connection between us, a magic all around us. Can't you feel it?"

"Yes," Veronica admitted, "but this just seems wrong somehow."

"Veronica," Malone prodded, "we both feel that there's a special chemistry between us. Now what's wrong with exploring that? If you back off from every situation with a potential risk factor, then where does that leave you?"

"Feeling secure," Veronica answered. Remembering why she had eventually stopped pursuing the Malone she knew shortly after his arrival.

"And is that security worth sacrificing happiness?" Malone asked.

Veronica never thought about it that way before. "I guess not," she speculated, and finally returned the smile that had been plastered on Malone's face for minutes now.

As thoughts of her past streamed through her head, she began to wonder if she had made the right choices with the Ned Malone in her reality. She had backed off her efforts to engage him in romance because she realized what a conflict that could cause in the treehouse if they broke it off, or if things were not going well. She reasoned that it would risk both of their lives as well as the lives of Marguerite, Roxton, Challenger, and at one time Summerlee. Now she wondered if that reasoning was sound. She had made that choice by taking a step back from her emotions, and using only logic. She didn't factor happiness into her equation at all. She realized, at this moment, that being separated from her parents and on her own at such a young age didn't teach her much about love. She had always enjoyed spending time with Malone, and he seemed to enjoy being alone with her. Maybe that enjoyment could be enhanced if she set down this shield she kept up and realized that not everything being thrown at her was an attack. She had accepted that Challenger and his expedition weren't going to physically hurt her, but emotionally, she never gave them the chance. But she began to wonder if Malone deserved that chance. As Veronica contemplated a romantic future between herself and Malone, she came up with far more positives than negatives.

Meanwhile, the Malone from this alternate reality was all over her. Veronica was half in touch with what was happening. The thoughts of her Malone shaded her mind, and she just couldn't focus on the actual situation. As the Malone before her tried to manipulate her as he did Assai, Veronica's mind was in the past. Focused on seizing opportunities with Malone that she had fought off before.

This Malone, who always found himself plotting and scheming, was happy that things looked to be working out. He had his arms held tightly around Veronica, his lips pressed against hers he backed her up toward his bed.

Veronica's head fell back, and instead of the soft, fluffy pillow she expected, she hit something hard. Whatever it was, it was underneath the pillow, and it allowed Veronica's mind to tear free from the past. She was finally focused on what was happening here. As Malone tried to remove her top, Veronica slid her hand other the pillow, and pulled something out. She held it up, and saw what it was – a diamond. Suddenly, she realized that, just like Challenger, Summerlee, Roxton, and Marguerite, the Malone here looked the same on the outside as the man she knew, but on the inside, he was a different person.

Veronica pushed Malone back so hard he flew back and onto the floor. Malone was shocked by her strength. Veronica sprang up, and looked down at Malone. She held out the diamond.

"What's this?" she asked.

As the sun peeked it's way up in the sky; screams scattered throughout the nearby jungle. Assai bolted up, John tried to do the same, but as he did, his hands began to tremble, and Marguerite held him in her arms. She tried to comfort him, relax him, but it was difficult – John was agitated.

"What is it?" Marguerite asked Assai softly, as to not startle John.

"It's Barnel," Assai explained, "it's… on fire!"

Assai watched as tons of human men came charging from the city, they were nearly all hunted down and slaughtered by the Lizards riding on horses. Marguerite slowly and gently broke away from Roxton, and joined Assai. Peering through the brush at the fairly scarce land surrounding the Lizard's city. After nearly all the humans were slain, they saw a Lizard in chains.

"Centuria," Marguerite said simply.

Assai moved closer to them to hear what was being said, Marguerite went back and guided John who joined them. He was better now that the violence had ended, but he was still jittery, and on the edge of just breaking down.

"…and not just any city," an officer with Centuria was yelling, "one of _our cities. And human males no less."_

"Humans have intelligence," Centuria retorted, "maybe not as much as us, but we shouldn't hold that against them."

"If they are too weak and too unsophisticated to resist us" the officer said, "so be it."

"I don't see it that way," Centuria preached, "I say, the great Lizard Civilization should give humans and other animals the opportunity to live with us, beside us. We shouldn't have to dominate everything."

"But we do," the officer said, "and your inability to see that will cost you… your life!" He pulled out his sword and chopped off her head. He stared at her for a moment before walking off with the words, "Why bother to eat such an insidious creature…"

"We have to get out of here," Assai cautioned, "the Lizards will be furious with humans after this, and they'll want to hunt down humans to pay for this!"

"Any humans," Marguerite realized.

"You!" the officer who had just killed the one called Centuria yelled to his comrades, "Come here!" To his comrades, "There are humans! There, in the jungle! We must destroy them!"

With Lizards charging, Marguerite, John, and Assai fled through the jungle, hoping to find their way to the treehouse before the physically dominant Lizards caught them. 

"That," said Malone, "it's just…"

"A diamond?" Veronica fumed, finally finding the mole she was looking for. Everyone here had the same characteristics as the treehouse gang from her reality, but those character attributes were showing up on different faces here. And Malone, was reminding her of only one person… Marguerite. "And," Veronica continued, "what other gems do you have hidden throughout the room?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing?" Malone responded.

"Is that why you came here, Malone? To collect gems?" Veronica questioned him further.

"I want to go back to London as something more than just some writer. I want to go back as a great writer, a heroic adventurer, and a rich man," Malone explained, "and I'm willing to share all that with you."

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked, still part of her wanted to trust him.

"I don't know," Malone smiled as he tried to flirt with her, "what could I mean?"

"Malone," said Veronica impatiently, and not impressed with Malone's charms.

"All right, all right," Malone said, "I'll tell you what can happen. Imagine I come home with the beautiful jungle native as my bride. Our being a couple will be huge for gossip and stuff like that! Besides that, people will want to know 'The Lost World native,' They will pay to see you at public appearances, and I'll make sure to arrange it so that we would profit from this."

"And what happens when we're not off showing me off as a spectacle?" Veronica asked. 

Malone could tell she was not happy. She also intimidated him at that moment because he had the sense that she was a talented fighter and she just might kill him if he tried to deceive her further.

"You and me… alone, I'm sure I can think of something we could do," Malone said with a twisted smile on his face.

"You evil, lying, sleazy little worm! I ought to kill you!" Veronica told him.

"No, no," Malone pleaded, "Veronica, you're taking this the wrong way. I love you, I care for you, I…"

"What about Assai?" Veronica asked, throwing Malone a curveball.

"What about her?" he countered innocently.

Veronica sighed with frustration, "Do really think I didn't notice that something's going on between you two? Why take me back as your 'jungle princess' when she wants to go?"

"Look," Malone explained, "Assai is more like a zombie than a person. I say it and she does it. She has no personality, no flare. She's as dead as her tribe. But you, you have a spark, a passionate fire in you…"

"It's not passion," Veronica assured him.

"Okay," Malone said, not pushing his luck, "but you're just so much more alive. Assai would never get into a fight with me; she'd just back down and go along with whatever I say. You have this defiance about you though. Maintaining a relationship with you would be a challenge, with benefits that both of us might like." The rage in Veronica's eyes seemed to be starting to subdue, so Malone continued. "And while Assai is very pretty, you, you are the prize catch of the jungle."

"That's it," Veronica pulled the knife from her boot, "you're not the Malone I know."

She was about to stab him, and it was the first time Malone truly realized that Veronica did indeed have the guts to kill him. But before she had the chance, her ears picked up a sound. 

Marguerite, with John and Assai beside her stood at the base of the treehouse, "Professor Summerlee," she screamed, "Challenger, Malone, somebody!"

Moments later, the newcomer, Veronica, was staring down at them.

"Marguerite," she said, "what's wrong?"

"The Lizards," she shouted, "a band of wild humans organized and burned one of their cities, and now they're hunting _all humans! Send down the elevator, quickly!"_

Moments later the entire treehouse gang was gathered and discussing the situation. Summerlee waddled over to the railing and peered into his telescope.

"My god!" he said, "they mean business."

"What is it, Arthur, what do you see?" Challenger demanded.

Summerlee turned to them, "This is going to be a massive attack! We can't survive here, we're going to have to evacuate."

"Uh-oh," Assai said.

"What?" questioned Malone.

"We're not all going to fit into the elevator at once," Veronica answered.

"Right," Summerlee cut in, taking charge, "Marguerite, you and John better go first, hide in the jungle brush. Assai, you and Mr. Malone go with them. Challenger, Miss Veronica and I will remain here, and follow you shortly."

"We're leaving?" asked Malone in disbelief.

"I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice," Summerlee stated.

"The Lizards could very well burn this place to the ground, and if they do, what about all our stuff?"

"There's no time Ned," Summerlee told him firmly, "hopefully, when the Lizards discover the treehouse abandoned they won't do anything but leave it be for us to come back to after we straighten this mess out. But if they do burn it down, better that we're not in it. Now hurry." 

Malone joined the others at the elevator, and left all his precious gems behind. 

Soon, all of the explorers were out of the treehouse and hidden away in the nearby jungle. Marguerite and Assai quickly took John deep into the brush, since violence had a way of bringing about a shell shock lapse in him. After it first happened, the once proud hunter complained greatly about these kinds of things. Through time though, he learned to except his disability, and live with the fact that he was no longer an asset in war, he was a liability.

Meanwhile, Malone, Summerlee, Challenger, and Veronica took up a more shallow position in the jungle. They were interested in what the Lizards would do. They watched, as dozens of them flooded the area, and surrounded their home. They took out crossbows and bombarded the treehouse with arrows. If the explorers were inside, they'd have had trouble avoiding all of them. Chances are, most of them would have been hit.

Soon after the arrival the archers, several more Lizards, Summerlee counted nine, approached the treehouse with catapults. Placed on the catapults were balls of tightly wrapped cloth, which were then lit on fire, and flung at treehouse. It took four rounds by each of the nine catapults, but in the end, the treehouse was enveloped in a cloud of flames. It took several minutes, but Malone, Summerlee, Challenger, and Veronica watched as the mighty treehouse burned to the ground.

"My stones," Malone said to himself, "my precious stones… All gone!"

"Forget your gems Malone," Challenger said, "this place was our home, fate guided us here, and this treehouse took us in, protected us."

"Time to move on, George," Summerlee said, "at least we're still alive, for now."

Assai came running to them, "We have to go, quickly," she whispered, "it's only a short time before they find us."

"Let's get going," Summerlee said, "come along, Malone." Summerlee guided Malone to the Roxtons and Challenger followed.

As Veronica turned to join the rest of them, Assai noticed that her eyes were misty.

"That place meant a lot to you," she asked, "didn't it? More than it ever could to any of us."

"My parents," Veronica explained, "they might be dead, they might just be missing still, even after 11 years, but they built that treehouse. I still hold my hope that they're alive, but still, I always see it as their legacy here on the plateau for when they die, or died. It's the one thing they left me, and even though this isn't my reality, it hurts to see it gone."

"I'm sorry," Assai told her. She finally realized that her problem with Veronica wasn't right. Her real problem was with Malone, but she didn't want to admit that to herself. She believed that Veronica was from another world, or whatever, like Summerlee had theorized. And she empathized with Veronica now.

As the two of them joined the others on the path, Veronica and Assai took up the rear.

"Assai," Veronica said quietly, so as to keep the conversation between the two of them only, "we need to have a little talk. I think you know what it's about." 

After several hours of strolling along the jungle, John, who was with his lovely bride Marguerite taking up the front of the group stopped. He fought his trembles as hard as he could and tried to help the group.

"What is it?" Summerlee asked.

"I hear a horse," John said.

_Good ear, thought Veronica, __I guess it doesn't matter what reality I'm in, only Lord Roxton can hear a pin drop._

"I don't hear anything," Challenger whispered, as not to alert the horsemen to their suspicions.

"It stopped," Assai realized.

"Prepare yourselves," John warned with a sharp whisper.

Marguerite said very quietly to him, "Oh John, you're trembling…"

"Marguerite," he whispered back, "not now."

Marguerite, still whispering, but equally agitated, said, "If you keep trying to fight this, one of these days those lapses are going to kill you."

John ignored her, and raised his rifle; ready to shoot whoever it was that was lurking in the jungle.

_He hasn't fired a gun in months, Marguerite thought to herself, very worried about John's health._

Suddenly, a Lizard jumped out at them. An overwhelming wave of anxiety hit John Roxton like a freight train, he couldn't fight it, and he fell to his knees. His hands were shaking so hard, he couldn't hold on to his rifle.

Fortunately, despite being selfish by nature, Malone was quick on his feet. It was within everyone's best interests to kill this Lizard quickly, before he had a chance to kill any of them. Malone cocked and aimed his rifle; fast. The Lizard was lunging for Challenger, but before he pounced on him, Malone's bullet pierced its armor and sunk into its chest.

"Oh, John," Marguerite said rushing to him, "I tried to warn you."

Summerlee stood over him, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Roxton struggled to speak over his heavy breaths, "I just need… to catch my breath."

"Well," said Challenger coming over, "we have been walking for hours, I guess it's time for a break."

Roxton tried to speak again, but he was having even more trouble spitting out the words this time. 

"John," Marguerite comforted him, "don't try to speak, just give yourself a chance to calm down and rest."

Tears of frustration formed in his eyes, and he cried on his loving wife's shoulders. He just couldn't bring himself to speak.

"I know this is hard on you," Marguerite said to him, "but you mustn't do this to yourself."

His wife didn't know the half of it. What Roxton wanted to, needed to do, was warn the others of the Lizards. Whether they were hunting or searching, partying or pillaging, the Lizards always wondered the jungle outside they're cities and roads in groups of three. They weren't safe here. 

As the explorers rested, two dark figures watched them, hidden in the trees. They could see these humans were resourceful, and while they had confidence in their ability to subdue them, they didn't want to take a chance. They knew that an attack of five could guarantee what an attack of two cannot. So, one left to get the stronger force, and one remained to follow the humans, keep track of their prey. 

Veronica's head turned quickly.

"What is it?" Summerlee asked.

Veronica signaled for silence and waited. Then she smiled, "Nothing," she said, "must've just been a snake or a bird."

"Thank heavens," Summerlee said, relieved, "all that walking takes a bit more out of me than it used to."

After a while, Assai, Marguerite and Challenger announced that they would scout a ways ahead on the path, and if it were clear, the group would be leaving. Assai and Veronica exchanged a smile, as they had befriended one another during their talk.

The three walked off, and roughly five minutes later, Veronica found herself sitting right next to Malone, with John and Summerlee a ways away from them.

_Well, Veronica thought to herself, __he's determined._

"You know," Malone began, "after what happened in the treehouse, there's only one precious gem for me to take back to London, and it's you."

"You monster," a voice called. Malone turned to see Assai; "I can't believe I ever allowed myself to fall in love with you."

"Assai," said Malone, not expecting this, "I was just…"

"Save it," Assai pulled out a knife of her own and without hesitation threw it right into Malone's heart.

Malone's eyes widened as he fell back. He looked up at her, "Assai, how could… I…"

Veronica rose in shock, but quickly joined Summerlee in trying to help John, who was just frozen after witnessing this.

"Oh god," Assai exclaimed, rushing to Malone and holding him in her arms, "what have I done?"

"I never meant to hurt you," Malone said, coughing up blood as he took a break in his speech, "I really did love you… lost track of, of everything important… I… I… I'm sorry…"

Tears flooded Assai's eyes, "No, don't leave me, Neddy, no!"

She cried, and cried, and didn't stop because she didn't know what else to do. Then she looked at Malone, and he seemed calmer.

"Malone," she said softly to him.

Malone looked up at her, paused for a moment, and then he did speak, "Nanny," he said, "I want to go to the fair."

Assai knew he was delirious, but felt she owed it to him to let him die at peace. So, using all her might to hold back more of her tears, she told him what he might wish to hear.

"I know, I know," she said, "but the fair will still be here tomorrow, and you need to go to sleep now."

"Sleep, sleep… sleep…" Malone's words trailed off, as he died right there in Assai's arms. 

Assai waved her hand over his face, putting his eyelids to rest. She set him on the ground fell to her knees and began wailing prayers to all the Zanga gods, which she had remembered from when her tribe still thrived. Veronica recognized some of them, but Zanga religion was foreign to the others. Assai ended her prayers, put her head down and cried over Malone's corpse. Nobody knew what to do next. Fate wouldn't give them the chance to figure it out, though.

Only moments after Assai ended her prayers, Marguerite and Challenger, who actually did scout ahead, came running up.

"What is it?" Summerlee asked quickly.

"T-Rex," Challenger told him.

Sure enough, seconds later a gigantic T-Rex was on top of them.

Challenger noticed Malone, "My word, what happened here?"

"There's no time for that right now," Veronica said.

Assai got up and charged the beast.

"Assai," Veronica called, "what are you doing?"

"I can't live with my self," she said, "I'll be the diversion, you can circle around him." With that she sprinted up to the T-Rex, and it snapped her up. Challenger, Summerlee, and Marguerite watched in horror. It was Veronica who had to organize them.

"We don't have time to waste here," Veronica said urgently, "Challenger, Summerlee start heading around. Marguerite, help me grab Roxton."

"John!" Marguerite exclaimed.

They grabbed John and fled. For nearly an hour, the five of them sprinted through the jungle, and then they stopped for a quick rest. It appeared that between Assai and Malone, the T-Rex was too busy to pursue them further.

The first thing they did was examine Roxton.

"I'm sorry my dear," Summerlee told Marguerite, "but he appears to be catatonic."

"Well," Marguerite said frantically, "we're not just leaving him behind as dinosaur food!"

"Don't be silly my child," Summerlee assured her, "we'll take John wherever we go. Besides, there still is hope that he may snap out of it, I think all he may need is some time."

"That's encouraging," Marguerite reasoned.

Slowly the conversation included everyone, and they started to reflect on the loss of Malone and Assai.

"I feel responsible," Summerlee told them.

"Arthur," Challenger told him, "you mustn't blame yourself."

"If it weren't for me and my silly expedition, Malone wouldn't have been trapped here with me and the rest of you."

"The discovery of The Lost World was huge, Summerlee," Marguerite added, "Malone knew the risk when he came on. It's dangerous out here."

"And what about Assai," Challenger continued, "if it weren't for us, she'd have died a lot sooner with the rest of her tribe."

"I never really knew much about Assai," Summerlee admitted.

"The only one she was really close to was Malone," Marguerite said.

"Look," Veronica said, "I know with all that's happened, to Roxton, to the treehouse, to Assai and Malone, that you want to mourn. But you can't do that yet. You have to push your feelings aside and keep going until you can afford to mourn. It's the only way to stay alive."

Marguerite glared at her, and as she thought of her catatonic husband she said, "That's so easy for you to say."

"I know that when I get back to where I belong things won't be this bad," Veronica explained, "and it's probably easier for me to except these deaths and injuries than you because you're all like different people to me. But there are parallels from my reality to this one, so don't think that I don't care."

"I'm sorry," Marguerite said, realizing the passion and heart in Veronica's voice was sincere.

"She is right," Summerlee admitted, "so, I guess our next step is to decide where we go from here."

Suddenly, from the trees above a Lizard dropped right in front of Marguerite. She screamed, but fortunately, Challenger was ready and he shot it quickly. Another came down, which Marguerite shot. Then another flew in, which Summerlee popped. Then, yet another Lizard dropped down, and he got a taste of Veronica's knife. One more Lizard dropped in on them, and with no time to reload, the four of them had to fight hand to hand. They were able to knock him out, but most of them were stunned, not killed, so they scooped up Roxton and ran. Veronica, the fastest by nature, found herself leading the way. She paid no attention to where she was going, but just ran. While running, she looked back to see how far behind the others were, and while looking back she ran right into someone.

From the ground Veronica stood up to see, _Tribune, she thought, __this can't be good._

The others caught up to her and aimed their guns at the Lizard.

"Not so fast," Tribune said, "I'm not the one you want to shoot. I am part of the Lizard Resistance. We're the ones who think humans and lizards should respect each other for their dominant qualities. There are some things that humans have, that we Lizards don't, and you aren't the most primitive thing in the jungle. The fact that both our species are capable of bilingual communication should be enough for us to respect each other; sadly, many of my kind don't see it that way."

_The Tribune I know never passed on an opportunity to remind us that lizards are better than humans are, Veronica thought, __I think I can buy his story here, then._

"And we're supposed to trust a Lizard?" asked Marguerite, not budging.

"It's true," said a human who came running up to them, "Tribune's one of those who respects humanity. My name is Drakul."

_Familiar faces, familiar faces, Veronica thought, amazed that in only a few days here, she'd seen so many individuals she'd met on the plateau in her reality._

Meanwhile, Drakul continued, "I'm the one who planned the Barnel operation, or what we're now calling, Centuria's Redemption."

"She was our leader," explained Tribune, "but after her death, I took command of the rebel forces."

_Tribune is on a power trip, Veronica joked with herself, __why am I not surprised?_

"Come," Drakul said enthusiastically, "you can stay at our camp."

"Well," Summerlee started, "that's very kind of you, but I think we'll be just fine out here in the jungle."

"You can't be serious," Drakul said, astonished.

"Our camp would be the safest place," Tribune said, backing him up, "and my people do have an affinity for attacking at night."

"Well, then," Challenger said, being friendly, "how can we refuse?"

Before following Tribune and Drakul to their camp, Summerlee needed to have a word with Challenger.

"We need to be careful here," he told Challenger.

Challenger looked around wearily, "Agreed."

They both knew that they didn't have much of a choice. A nocturnal assault by the Lizards was almost a guarantee, and with Roxton unable to walk, Malone and Assai dead, and the treehouse gone, they were weaker than ever. Still, it was difficult to trust. 

The Lizards gave the five explorers a tent at their encampment, and none of them had any complaints about the dinner being provided.

"So," Challenger asked everyone, "how long shall we indulge in these people's hospitality?"

"It is rather nice here," Marguerite agreed, "I even got some flowers for John." Her voice became grimmer and darker when she said his name, for Roxton still showed no signs of improvement, despite the flowers.

"The sooner we leave here, the better," Veronica stated flatly.

Challenger almost stood up to confront her, "That's not being very optimistic, after all these people have done for us today."

"If they are who they say they are," Veronica began, "then they're begging an attack from the Lizards. Safety in numbers be damned, when they come, I don't want to be here. And I'm still not so sure that all of this is for real. They might be lying."

"Oh, come now…" started Challenger.

"Anything that seems too good to be true, usually is," Veronica pointed out, "and stumbling on this camp, full of heart-felt Lizards, and a powerful human army, working together to extend a hand of kindness, is like finding a gold mine."

"Summerlee?" Marguerite wanted to know his take on this.

"I," he paused, "I think I must agree with Miss Veronica. The only ones we can trust are ourselves. The best thing to do would be to find a place, a cave perhaps, and wait for the fighting to settle down."

"You'd have us run away like cowards," Marguerite wanted to help these people kill all the Lizards, and she wasn't afraid to let it show.

"There's only one thing you need to try to do," Veronica told her.

"And what's that?" asked Marguerite, getting fed up with the situation.

"Stay alive," Veronica told her plainly.

Summerlee nodded, "She's right. And you all saw what happened when we were thrust into this conflict."

All four eyes fell on John Roxton.

"Very well," Marguerite spoke for all of them, "we leave in the morning." 

The next morning, Veronica was the first one up… Well, kind of. Being on the alert, she allowed herself very little sleep the night before. She woke up the others and announced that as they got themselves together, she would inform Tribune and their other "friends" of their departure.

Veronica walked toward Tribune, who was awake. Odd in a way, since most of the camp was dead, everyone sleeping. She observed Tribune near the camp's entrance, pacing frantically.

She walked up to him, "Tribune,"

"Yes," he said, more stern then yesterday. Enough to arouse her suspicions, but then she did remember the Tribune from her reality telling her once that the Lizard's weren't exactly the sharpest in the morning.

"I just wanted to let you know, that soon my friends and I will be leaving," Veronica informed him.

"Leaving," Tribune seemed very alert all of the sudden, and she sensed a concern in him as well, "but what makes the jungle full of my people's hunting parties any safer today than it was yesterday?"

"We feel more confident in daylight," Veronica said simply, "and by the next nightfall we'll have found a new safe place to stay." Then, something caught Veronica's eye, "What is that?"

Tribune looked out, she'd have sworn his eyes looked right at it, yet he said, "I don't see anything. In the meantime, I hope you and your friends will at least stay for breakfast."

_He does see it, Veronica determined, __but there's always more to Tribune than what meets the eye. The Tribune I know seems like a bad guy, but something deep inside him is good, and this one's just the opposite, he seems like a friend, but he's definitely a foe._

"How can you betray all these people?" Veronica asked.

Maybe the morning was affecting Tribune, for his answer was calm, "It's not so hard really…"

Veronica pulled her knife out, but Tribune was quick to react. He grabbed her and flung her to the ground. He stood before, leaned down, and tried to turn her knife and stab Veronica instead. Veronica, lifted her feet to his chest, and kicked him, sending him flying backward. She sprang up, and ran back to the tent.

As Summerlee was tying his shoe, Veronica poked into the tent, "We're leaving, now!"

"What, no breakfast?" Marguerite mused.

_Why does this Marguerite have to spout off her sarcastic one-liners too? Veronica asked herself._

"Tribune's a traitor," she explained, "he's led the Lizards to us here. Now, grab Roxton, and let's go."

They were too late; the horsemen Veronica had seen were already there. The explorers had little chance, so they tried to stay out of sight.

The battle was truly saddening; arrows from crossbows flying everywhere, small fires raging about, most of the humans there didn't even get a chance to flee their tents.

"Shouldn't we try and help?" Marguerite asked.

"What would be the point?" Summerlee told her, "any damage we do will be minimal."

"We have to focus on defense," Veronica shouted.

As discussion occurred between them, a blind side formed in their little circle at the edge of town. Without seeing it coming, two Lizard horsemen each holding one side of a large net, galloped past the explorers and scooped them up. 

The Lizards threw the five explorers into a prison wagon, a covered prison wagon, which Veronica thought was peculiar. After traveling for what seemed like hours, they stopped.

"I guess we're here," Summerlee surmised. It was the first time any of them had spoke during the trip across Lizard territory. With all the tragedy that had struck this group, they couldn't strike up an ordinary conversation, and pretend like everything was okay. Not even Veronica, who still felt a separation from the others.

A pair of Lizard officers came in, tied the prisoner's hands, and put a blindfold over their eyes. The hand restraints were chained together. Upon exiting the prison wagon the two Lizards guided the five prisoners away.

"Where are we going?" Veronica asked, not knowing where the one she was asking was.

"You'll find out when we get there," a voice told her.

"That's not good enough," Veronica declared.

Another voice spoke; it must have been the other officer because Veronica could definitely ascertain a difference. "You are to be taken to the Royal Court for trial."

"Royal Court?" Veronica said, more to herself than anyone else, "Trial? Things are different here."

Marguerite was concerned for John, who was at the end of the line, being dragged into the court by the others. She tried to speak, but Veronica's voiced concerns must've frustrated the Lizards because they "strongly advised" her to remain quiet.

Finally, they stopped walking; the officers untied them, and removed the blindfolds. Veronica looked around. There were Lizards seated all around them. The explorers were standing in a circle, the boundary clearly marked. All the Lizards were back from it a little bit. At one point around the outside of the circle there was an area of the floor that had been raised. On this large platform sat one Lizard, and she looked pretty to be elderly. There was a Lizard inside the circle though, but only one.

"Tribune," said Veronica, enraged. She tried to go over and confront him, but someone grabbed her arm. She turned.

"What are you doing?" Marguerite asked gently.

"Tribune," she said, "he betrayed us, he betrayed hundreds of humans besides us, and I'm going to kill him!"

"Not now, dear," Marguerite said.

"Attention," called the elderly Lizard from the platform, "Tribune, explain the charges brought on these people."

"We shouldn't waste the time," Tribune declared, "these humans are treacherous. Why should we explain our reasons for punishment, or amuse them by mapping out our plans for them. They are human. If a Lizard child cuts off his finger practicing with his sword, it grows back. If a human loses a finger, they are scarred for eternity. The fact that these beings are human is enough to sentence them to death!"

"I would agree," the elderly woman explained, "yet, our law states that being human is not enough for the death sentence."

Marguerite whispered to Summerlee, "Why mess with a trial, they could have just killed us?"

"I don't know," Summerlee told her, "but I suspect that we may never understand Lizard politics."

"Fine," Tribune groaned, "if you will not kill them for being human, then kill them for trying to confiscate our tree base."

The old female nodded; she seemed pleased with Tribune's initiative.

"Wait," Veronica screamed distastefully, "that's a lie! A Lizard didn't build the treehouse; my parents built it. You have no right to claim it!"

"Can you prove this?" the apparent judge asked.

"All the proof was erased when you and your Lizards burnt it to the ground," Veronica said.

"A pity," said the judge, "very well, Tribune, execute the humans."

Suddenly the floor began to move, the whole circled area was flying down.

"My word," Summerlee observed, "this whole circle is an elevator platform."

"Astounding," Challenger said in awe.

Once the elevator stopped guards immediately grabbed the arms of each explorer, so that they could not escape. Tribune waved his hand, and an additional five Lizards came running out, each with a crossbow.

Tribune began reciting some speech, but Veronica wasn't listening, she struggled mightily to free herself from the Lizard's grasp. But he was simply more powerful than she was. She couldn't break free, but she would never give up. She had to. She had to.

Meanwhile, the guard assigned to hold John Roxton in place eased his grip, realizing that Roxton was unable to move. But Roxton was conscious, and he saw this as his opportunity. He knew that he'd have to break free of his fear of battle and his fear of the Lizards or else all his friends would die. His wife, Marguerite would die if he failed.

_If my life can serve as one thing, Roxton told himself, __let it be to help these people:  even if I have to die, it doesn't matter; die for a good cause, what more could I ask for?_

So, he focused his dead gaze on his hand, and with all his mental power he tried to make a fist. Thirty seconds or so went by, and nothing happened. John was burned out.

_Damn it!  he thought, __make a fist. Come on!_

He closed his eyes and tried to focus, he reopened them, and looked back at his hand again. He knew that if he could close his eyes then his catatonic state was already breaking down. He focused them on his hand, and… made a fist.

Something surged through Lord John Roxton's body. It was, an adrenaline rush. He hadn't felt that since… Since his last real battle, when he first came to the plateau.

"Now," Tribune was saying, "gentlemen, on my mark, raise your crossbows. Three…"

John smiled; he quickly reached back and pulled out the sword of the guard who was supposed to be restraining him. Showing incredible strength John stabbed the Lizard through the heart, even with his armor on the sword shot through.

_Lord Roxton to the rescue, Veronica thought to herself, __now, that's something I've almost grown accustomed to._

"Two…" Tribune was getting anxious.

Then, he took the sword out of the Lizard's chest and threw it at Tribune, hitting him in the chest. The Lizard didn't have a chance to say "one," and that gave John and his friends the advantage.

In the confusion, Veronica broke free of the Lizard restraining her, and knocked him out cold. Then, she took the two knives she carried on the back of her belt and threw them at two of the archers.

John was quick to realize that the Lizards had never removed his gun. _Bad idea, he thought. He pulled it out, and shot the other three archers._

With all the commotion happening, Marguerite, Summerlee, and Challenger didn't even have to try to escape the guards. Marguerite was quick to draw her gun and shoot one. Challenger and Summerlee, combining their strength, managed to knock out a Lizard too. The final Lizard who was alive and conscious, tried to sneak around and get a surprise hit on Marguerite, but just before he succeeded, John shot him.

Marguerite turned to him, "My hero," she said, pleasantly surprised by John's swift action in battle.

"My pleasure," he said to her.

Veronica walked up to them, "But I don't understand, I thought you had shell shock?"

"I did," John said, "but I think that now, I'm cured."

"Why," Summerlee sputtered, "that… that defies scientific explanation."

"Let it go Arthur," Challenger told Summerlee.

"He's right," John said, "we have to get out of here, escape before the Lizards can organize and capture us again."

"You read my mind," Veronica said.

So, the three of them sprinted out of the Lizard capitol. 

Running through the jungle, toward the treehouse's old location, only because the Lizards would inherently stay away from that area, Summerlee stopped.

"Hold on," he called, "I think I need a rest."

"Well," John told him, "that's fine, I think we lost anyone who might have followed us."

"What is that?" Challenger wondered, "up there, it's a shadow."

"You know what this is," Veronica realized, "this is the exact place I was when I came here, and it's the same shadow I saw."

"It must be some sort of passage, that will lead you back to your reality," Summerlee determined, "Go, go my child, get back to where you belong."

"Okay," Veronica said, "but you'll be careful for me, Professor. You all will."

"Hurry," Summerlee said, "you wouldn't want to miss your opportunity."

Veronica nodded and then ran off, she didn't take prolonged good-byes. 

She experienced the same strange sensation as she did before, but this time, to her surprise, she did not wake up in the jungle.

"Where am I?" she asked a loud, with really no idea who was there to answer her.

"Welcome," said a voice, "I hope you are not injured."

"The Prin," Veronica said, "what is this about? Did you want to see if the people in another reality would accept using machines turned alive as slaves? No, that wouldn't involve me."

"I apologize for your inconvenience," the Prin said, "but we have just recently unraveled the mysteries surrounding time and space. We can time travel, and we can travel to parallel universes."

"And what _does this have to do with me?" Veronica asked, her anger subsiding and her lack of understanding flooding to the forefront._

"We are fascinated by these new things our science has told us," the Prin told her, "we wanted to see what would happen when we mixed elements from different realities. You have provided us with valuable data."

"That's not okay to do," Veronica told him, "my presence there brought a lot of death and destruction."

"We can repair that damage," said the Prin, "we are now working to get you back to the moment you left, so everything will be right again. We can also erase your memories, if you'd like."

"No," said Veronica, "I want to remember what you've done."

"I realize that our moral standards do not coincide with yours, but we…"

Veronica cut the Prin off, "You think it's okay because you can take it back and start over again, I don't. Just take me back." 

Veronica did return to the jungle again, at the same time from when she was abducted. She told her story to Challenger and the rest of her treehouse friends. Even though she hated what the Prin did, it taught her some things about people. It taught her that no matter the circumstances, everyone has certain qualities that will dominate them.

Perhaps, Professor Challenger said it best when he said, "I guess we are what we are, and we can't change that no matter what happens to us, or how hard we may try." 

John and Marguerite Roxton along with Challenger and Summerlee were wandering through the jungle.

"So," John asked, "with the treehouse gone, where do we live."

"I don't know," Challenger commented, "but it really is a shame that we couldn't save any of Malone's gems. It would have been a good way to remember him."

"Indeed," Summerlee agreed, "It is unfortunate that they were all lost in the fire."

Marguerite took a step back from the group. She slipped her hand into her pocket, and pulled out what had been the largest diamond of Malone's collection.

"Oh," she said, as a sly and greedy smile stretched across her face, "I don't know about that Professor."

**_The End_**


End file.
